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Once more into the fray for the Toronto Arrows, who bring a close to their arduous campaign when they take on the New England Free Jacks in Marietta on Sunday. Both sides are out of playoff contention but there will be no lack of motivation for the Eastern Conference rivals.
Toronto snapped a five-game losing streak and restored some confidence with a win over Old Glory last weekend. They will be desperate to end their season on a high and also to make up for their narrow defeat to the Free Jacks in Weymouth six weeks ago.
Rob Brouwer rotates in at loosehead prop in an otherwise unchanged forward pack. Tayler Adams is absent but Manuel Montero is fit to start on the left wing. Sam Malcolm moves up into the flyhalf spot and Joaquín Tuculet returns to his preferred fullback position. Alex Russell could make his MLR debut as a replacement having recently arrived from the Pacific Pride.
New England made their contribution to the late season drama with a four-tries-to-none win over New York in dreadful conditions last weekend. Aside from the simple desire to win some players will be keen to leave a positive impression for the incoming coach with Ryan Martin now confirmed to be moving on to Super Rugby next season.
Three personnel changes are made to the forward pack. Stephan Coetzee makes his first start in a Free Jacks shirt with Quentin Newcomer wearing the No3 shirt. Tera Mtembu runs out in the unfamiliar position of lock with Wian Conradie on the flank and Vili Toluta’u at the back of the scrum.
Tuidraki Samusamuvodre is rewarded for late impact against New York with a start on the left wing in place of Harry Barlow. The latter joins Pieter Jansen, Erich de Jager, and Conor Kindregan on a strong bench that could make a difference in the second half.
Both sides play similar styles that lean heavily on their backline attack, particularly from set piece play. New England will have to be creative in the lineout with Jackson Thiebes an obvious target, though the Arrows have also struggled in that area this season. Expect an entertaining and close contest with the Arrows slight favorites based on home field advantage.
Kickoff is set for noon local time, 9am Pacific. CBS Sports Network will broadcast in the USA with TSN 3 carrying the game for those in Canada, with The Rugby Network streaming for viewers abroad.
TORONTO ARROWS
1 Rob Brouwer, 2 Jack McRogers, 3 Gastón Cortes, 4 Mike Sheppard, 5 Paul Ciulini, 6 Ollie Nott, 7 Tomás de la Vega, 8 Ronan Foley, 9 Andrew Ferguson, 10 Sam Malcolm, 11 Manuel Montero, 12 Guiseppe du Toit (capt.), 13 Mitch Richardson, 14 Johnny Sheridan, 15 Joaquín Tuculet
Replacements: 16 Joe Tomlinson, 17 Pat Lynott, 18 Marc-Antoine Ouellet, 19 Adrian Wadden, 20 Mason Flesch, 21 Jason Higgins, 22 Kobe Faust, 23 Alex Russell
NEW ENGLAND FREE JACKS
1 Sef Fa’agase, 2 Stephan Coetzee, 3 Quentin Newcomer, 4 Jackson Thiebes, 5 Tera Mtembu, 6 Wian Conradie, 7 Joe Johnston (capt.), 8 Vili Toluta’u, 9 John Poland, 10 Beaudein Waaka, 11 Tuidraki Samusamuvodre, 12 Harrison Boyle, 13 Poasa Waqanibau, 14 Mitch Wilson, 15 Dougie Fife
Replacements: 16 Pieter Jansen, 17 Spencer Krueger, 18 Erich de Jager, 19 Conor Kindregan, 20 Justin Johnson, 21 Tom Brusati, 22 Josateki Degei, 23 Harry Barlow
Date: Sunday, July 11
Venue: Lupo Family Field, Marietta
Kickoff: 12:00 local (09:00 Pacific)
Referee: Derek Summers (USA)
Assistants: Kat Roche (USA) & Cisco Lopez (USA)
Broadcasts: CBS Sports Network, The Rugby Network, TSN 3
Historical Results
2021-05-29 – New England Free Jacks 14, Toronto Arrows 12 (Union Point Stadium)
